pgapeuro - The Siege of Leningrad

SIEGE OF LENINGRAD

OVERVIEW
Dragging a dead body through the streets

It was September 8, 1941. The German's had completely surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad. 2.5 million people were trapped helpless within the city. Hitler was confident that the Nazi advance into Russia, called Operation Barbossa, would be successful. When asked about Leningrad, he said that the city would, "fall like a leaf." However, Leningrad refused to surrender to the Nazis; the inhabitants of the city had a sense of pride that would not be deterred. Four days after the siege began, the city authorities began to count the supplies within the city. They estimated that they had enough sugar for 60 days, flour for 35 days, meat for 33 days, and cereals for 30 days. What they did not estimate was that the siege would last 900 days. What they did not estimate was that over 641,000 people would die by the end of the siege. And what they did not estimate was that the death rate would reach the highest point in the upcoming December, where people were dying the rate of 1,600 people per day. This was the horror of World War II. This was the Siege of Leningrad.

BEFORE THE SIEGE

A starving man holds his ration

Due to the initial success of Operation Barbossa, the Germans were very optimistic about their plans for Leningrad. They first started by bombarding the city from a few miles away. Then, they dropped propaganda papers into the city of Leningrad that told the citizens that they would starve if they did not surrender. (To learn more about Nazi propaganda, click here). To help suppress the chaos that began to form inside the city, Martial Law was imposed by the city authorities. The people of Leningrad were surprised when the Germans did not invade the city; this was due to the weak German forces and the surprisingly strong Russian defenses. Since the Germans did not want to lose too many forces trying to invade the city, they decided to put the city under siege and wait for it to surrender. However, even the Germans did not expect the siege to last as long as 900 days.

DURING THE SIEGE
During the siege, one of the biggest problems that the people of Leningrad faced was the lack of food and supplies. Food rations were given out to the citizens, but they were not enough for the people to live off of alone. The rations reached

A dead body lies unburied in the street

their lowest level during the winter of 1942, when each person was given a meager 125 grams of bread a day. In order to get more supplies into Leningrad, a road was constructed that led into the city over a frozen lake, called Lake Ladoga. However, the harsh Russian weather and the poor condition of the road led to minimal supplies being brought into Leningrad. Nevertheless, the citizens of Leningrad still referred to this road as the "Road of Life." During the summer, this road was used to secretly evacuate citizens from the siege and bring them to safety. There was also a military resistance to the Germans during the siege. Georgii Zhukov was in charge of the defense of Leningrad. Almost all of the citizens of Leningrad joined the People's Volunteers, which was a group that built fortifications and dug trenches in order to defend the city. (If you would like to learn more about trenches, click here). Another important event during the time of the Siege of Leningrad was the Battle of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad was successful in keeping the Germans from getting another city in Russia which they could use as a base. If Stalingrad had been taken over by the Germans, the Germans would have been better able to fund their siege, and Leningrad may not have successfully withstood the Germans. (To learn more about the important Battle of Stalingrad, click here). Even though the Battle of Stalingrad may have saved the city of Leningrad, this did not mean that the conditions inside the city were getting any better. Many people had to resort to abhorrent ways in which to find food. They were forced to eat their pets or find and kill other cats and dogs. Some of the most desperate people had to resort to cannibalism. This was not particularly pleasant or sanitary, especially because many people died of diseases and illnesses. In order to try to keep the people in Leningrad from completely breaking down, the government played optimistic music on all the radios. Dmitri Shostakovich's symphony was commonly played aloud with the city. (To learn more about Russian composers, click here). However, while this may have temporarily lifted spirits, any siege that lasts 900 days is sure to leave a terrible impact on its victims and scar them for life.

AFTER THE SIEGE
With a death toll of over 641,000 people, the Siege of Leningrad was engraved in all of the Russians' memories forever. The Piskariovskoye Memorial Cemetery holds over 500,000 graves of Russians who died during the siege. The Siege of

Piskariovskoye Memorial Cemetery

Leningrad was lifted in January 1943 but it wasn't until January 27, 1944 that the siege was completely broken. Even though all the Germans forces in Russia began to retreat, the siege still had a disastrous affect the people living in Leningrad. However, even worse things were about to happen to the leaders of Leningrad during the siege. Afterwards, they were arrested by Stalin for not reporting to Moscow enough during the siege, and therefore being a threat because they were compromising his power. These poor people were sent to the Gulags, where they faced a similarly awful situation as they did during the siege. All in all, the fact that the Russians were able to hold their ground against the Germans greatly in influenced history. If the Germans had taken Leningrad, they might have taken over all of Russia. This would have turned World War II into a one front war, and possibly may have affected the overall outcome of the war. There is no doubt that had Russia lost this siege and lost this war, the entire country would never had progressed to where it is today. The current power of Russia rests greatly on the backs of the courageous and brave people who survived the Siege of Leningrad.

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